Geschlechtersensibler Sprachgebrauch im Wahlkampf? Eine diachrone Analyse von TV-Duellen in Deutschland

Abstract

In the last years, gender-sensitive language use has become an important issue of public debate in Germany and many other countries. The generic use of masculine forms in particular has been widely criticised. How, for example, public figures and politicians, both in government and of the opposition, refer to groups comprised of diverse genders is therefore scrutinised by the general public and routinely commented on in the media. In this paper, we analyse the language use of candidates for German chancellor and federal state prime minister, respectively, in televised pre-election debates – i. e. the most important single campaign event – from 1997 to 2020. Focussing on references to voters (Wählerinnen [FEM] or Wähler [MASC]) and to citizens (Bürgerinnen [FEM] or Bürger [MASC]), we quantitatively investigate the following research questions: Has the use of gender-sensitive expressions increased over the years? Are female candidates more likely to use gender-sensitive language than male candidates? Is there a preference for gender-sensitive language (as opposed to using the generic masculine) among candidates on the left of the political spectrum compared to conservative candidates?

Gendered debates? The use of gender-sensitive language in German televised debates, 1997–2022

“…We analyse the use of GSL (that is, simultaneous reference to both men and women) using a content analysis of all US-style televised debates aired on German TV in the run-up to federal and state-level elections over a period of a quarter-century . This extends the empirical evidence we have presented elsewhere (Schneider et al, 2022). In addition, we present for the first time data on the change in the use of GSL by candidates who participated more than once in televised debates.…”

“…In the last five to six years, we have also had a number of publicly received and politically controversial statements by linguists in German-speaking mass media (both pro and contra); for instance, a polemic signature campaign was carried out by the conservative language association Verein Deutsche Sprache, in which gendersensitive language was labelled across the board as 'Gender-Unfug' ('gender nonsense') that should be abolished. 1 In Germany, anecdotal evidence suggests that the political elite is divided on this issue (see, for example, Schneider et al, 2022). Although parties like the Left Party 2 and the Green Party tend to support the use of GSL -in the case of the Green Party, even in the form of binding rules 3 -conservative parties are more sceptical; recently, even some states governed by the Christian Democrats (CDU/CSU) have banned the use of GSL in administration and schools.…”